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At the end of October 2024, the world lost a founding father of modern Functional Neurosurgery – Professor Tipu Aziz.

Professor Tipu Aziz in the operating theatre with the text 'Tipu Aziz, Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery & Founder and Former Head of Oxford Functional Neurosurgery'

Tipu was a revered and highly respected colleague in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and in the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Oxford.

Having endured the civil war in Bangladesh during his childhood in the 1960s, he spent some time in the USA before studying for A-levels in the UK and initially took a degree in Neurophysiology. He later studied medicine and his research involved ground-breaking and seminal work on the Subthalamic Nucleus in Parkinson’s disease and undoubtedly was crucial in the subsequent rise of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders Internationally. He was world-renowned for his work which included not just pioneering clinical treatments such as DBS for chronic pain, but also Neuroscience, especially neurophysiology and the application of neuroimaging to DBS.

He published over 400 peer-reviewed articles and won a number of awards including the Society of British Neurological Surgeons’ lifetime achievement award. He was a true patient advocate and was loved by his patients for his dedication, down to earth manner, humour, and enthusiasm for making them better. He championed the use of animals in research, taking great personal risk but pursuing and adhering to what he perceived to be the right thing to do.

He leaves behind hundreds of DPhil students, undergraduates, clinical fellows and post-docs that he supported over three decades and there are few Functional Neurosurgery units without some aspect of his influence. Indeed he helped set up several units around the world, including Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, amongst a number of Western units.

Those who were privileged to know him personally will miss his humble, affable and eccentric character, his all-welcoming attitude, and his treasure trove of wild and interesting stories of his experiences told over a glass of Pinot Grigio.

Alex Green and James FitzGerald